Trending Gear: January 2018

Every day, readers like you proudly share photos of their everyday carry on the site.

Not only is looking through their pockets this way super interesting, but it's also a great way to find really cool gear you never even knew existed (yet somehow, suddenly need…).

When you hover over an item you like and click on it in these photos, you're also letting other EDCers know you find that gear interesting. Each click gets recorded to create a data-driven ranking of the most popular gear, which you can find in our Gear section of the site found in the top menu bar.

Gear with the most views and clicks climbs its way to the top of this feed and lets the EDC community know what's trending right this second.

This time around, it looks like beefy wristwatches and striking pocketknife designs piqued your interest the most. Let's take a look at the full breakdown…

The Most Popular EDC Gear from January 2018

10. Hamilton BeLOWZERO Dive Watch

Last month's list of most viewed gear opens up with a watch that would be right at home as the hood emblem of a tank. While you may have recognized the Hamilton BeLOWZERO on Matt Damon's wrist as Mark Watney in the film The Martian, the watch is actually designed to withstand the pressures of the deep, to the tune of 1000 meters. Its strength comes from its beefy dimensions and features, including a 46mm case, 5.6mm thick sapphire glass, and screw-down crown. Serious divers will appreciate the watch's automatic movement, clear, legible face, and helium escape valve while exploring the depths.

9. Benchmade Anthem 781

It wouldn't be all too surprising if any Benchmade knife caught the eyes of EDCers — they're often designed with the right shape and feature set for an excellent daily carry. But the Anthem 781 is especially noteworthy upon closer inspection. It's the first knife to feature Benchmade's AXIS lock and an integral handle made from a single block of titanium. That's no easy feat, but it's something you could expect from Benchmade's all-American manufacturing. The machined handle houses the 781's 3.5”, CPM-20CV drop point blade — a highly practical size and shape for EDC.

8. Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

Fountain pens aren't the most popular type of pen to carry. But if you were going to EDC one, it'd hard to beat the Lamy Safari. It's a crowd favorite for its ability to be configured to most writing preferences by swapping out nibs or opting for ink cartridges or a converter. It also carries well in the pocket thanks to its light and durable ABS plastic body paired with a steel wire clip. The Safari comes as a straight forward, no-frills fountain pen at a relatively accessible price, making it ideal for new fountain pen users and veterans alike.

7. Antonini Old Bear

This traditional knife shows that classic designs never go out of style, while also proving that old dogs (or bears) can still learn new tricks. The Antonini Old Bear takes the 7th spot with its timeless utility pocket knife design, complete with 2.75” 420 stainless steel blade that opens with a nail nick and natural wood handles that develop a unique patina over time. A brass collar adds both extra style and utility to the Old Bear, and also houses the knife's unique twist lock for security during use.

6. Oris Aquis Date

Dive watches seem to be in season, with the Oris Aquis Date snagging last month's 6th spot. The watch may look simple, but ticks all the boxes for a robust everyday accessory. Its 43mm case is home to a high-contrast black dial with Superluminova-coated indices and hands, behind which lies an automatic winding date movement with a power reserve of up to 38 hours. A stainless steel crown screws down into its equally-durable stainless steel case, giving the Aquis Date up to 300 meters of pressure resistance. Finally, its rubber strap comes with a stainless steel security folding clasp with extension, letting you easily slip the watch on and off even while wearing a wetsuit.

5. Thrunite Ti HI

Halfway through the list we have this piece of keychain bling, the Thrunite Ti HI. This was a limited edition run from a few years back, featuring a polished titanium body and a CREE XP-L HI emitter. The namesake XP-L HI offered impressive throw for a keychain light at the time. While this version isn't available anymore, you can grab the light it's based on—the Ti3—at an excellent value. The aluminum Ti3 hits 120 lumens on high off a single AAA battery, dialing down to an equally impressive 0.04 lumen Firefly mode for 115 hours of runtime.

4. KeySmart Extended

Jangly keys are never pleasant to carry—much less manage—so a key organizer helps keep your essentials in line, literally. The KeySmart Extended is last month's 4th most popular item, an upgrade to their regular model that allows you to compact and arrange a tidy pile of up to 14 keys while maintaining a pocket-friendly profile. With no tools required (except maybe a coin you're already carrying), you can banish the bulk with ease.

3. Olight ION

When it comes to flashlights, Olight has been blazing a trail with their unique and innovative designs. For their 10th anniversary, they pulled all the stops with the release of the ION. It's nothing like the usual flashlight you've come to expect, featuring twin CREE XP-G3 LEDs up front, a rectangular titanium alloy frame, a glass panel with touch controls, and an integrated micro-USB charging port. While it might look like a tiny smartphone, it certainly outshines one in the lumens department, hitting a max of 320 for almost half an hour. It ramps down to a 1 lumen low for 90 hours of light clipped onto your keychain.

2. CRKT Ruger Bolt Action Pen

Bolt-action pens give fidgety fingers something to do while in between jotting down thoughts, and this Brian Fellhoelter design was popular enough to take January's second spot. The Ruger Bolt-Action features sleek lines and a slim clip in a lightweight machined aluminum package, letting you effortlessly carry the pen while able to glide from pocket to page. And while the pen is a custom design, its refill is a common and popular favorite, as EDCers are able to put their Fisher Space Pen cartridges to good use.

1. CRKT Otanashi Noh Ken

Take one look at the Otanashi Noh Ken and you'll know it means business. It's an unapologetically tactical design from James Williams in an all-black colorway, featuring a slender 4.5” clip point blade, a G10 handle, and a safety-equipped frame lock to keep the blade deployed during an engagement. If you're a fan of this style of knives from designer James William but want to take advantage of CRKT's new Field Strip technology, take a look at the new for 2018 CRKT Goken.

Who Likes This (159)

I despise CRKT "Field Strip Technology" with a passion. I don't understand this as of late obsession people have to tear their pocket knives apart. I own slipjoints that are 50+ years old. They can't be "Field Striped" and continue to work and operate just fine. If you have played with these FAST knives from CRKT them you know the FST is actually a weak point. The way these knives are held together isn't as strong or reliable as traditional methods. If left unchecked they can fail during use.

Sure I've played with one and got it to fail/come apart during use. Then just read actual owner reviews. This owner nailed it,

Look at the cutout around the pivot hole on the blade, it is continuous and surrounds the blade 180 degrees, leaving the blade main bearing on the top of pivot a thin semi hoop. This design takes away most of the metal that supports the blade in one direction, and also takes away a lot of the strength in the other direction in tension that otherwise connects to the bottom of the pivot hole. Also the track ends will have higher stress concentration compared to just a simple pivot hole with conventional external stop pin.

Quite likely, this design is less than 50% the strength of conventional design.

For $90 you are paying $55 for being able to take down a $25 knife and $10 for the name.

And AUS 8 is so out of date!

I bet a cold steel with CTS steel and "triad" lock will cut better without sharpening for a long time in its dirtiest state than a clean "home front" kept clean and sharpened every week.

CRKT makes some great products, but this one to me is counter intelligent. I bet of a no name person instead of Ken onion went to any manufacturer, they would have laughed.

No one will ever rely on a knife that has a pivot hole where half of it has nothing supporting it, same goes with interchangeable blade folders, dah!

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